HONOLULU — The Big Island of Hawaii is bracing for high winds, heavy rain and ocean swells of up to 20 feet as strengthening Hurricane Ignacio approaches the state. A false-colored infrared picture of Hurricane Ignacio was made at NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena California, utilizing knowledge from the Atmospheric Infrared Sounder or AIRS instrument that flies aboard NASA’s Aqua satellite tv for pc The AIRS knowledge from August 27 at 11:23 UTC (7:23 a.m. Ignacio was 585 miles (940 kilometers) east-southeast of Hilo, Hawaii, with top winds of 140 miles per hour, making it a Category 4 hurricane on the five-step Saffir-Simpson scale, the center said in an advisory at 11 a.m.

EDT) confirmed that cloud prime temperatures had cooled inside Ignacio indicating that the uplift of air inside the storm was stronger than it was on August 26. Forecasters at the Central Pacific Hurricane Center said conditions are right for it to continue strengthening Saturday, but upper-level winds will weaken the storm in the following days. It is expected to pass north of Hawaii in the coming week, but forecasters warn that there is still uncertainty about the storm’s path. “If Ignacio shifts to the right, we could see light winds, more humid conditions, and localized heavy rain.

Everyone should continue to monitor the progress of Ignacio during the next several days,” the National Weather Service told The Honolulu Star-Advertiser. The NHC famous that additional strengthening appears possible with Ignacio over the subsequent couple of days because the storm strikes by means of an space with light-to-moderate easterly shear, heat water and a moist environment.

Ignacio’s power is predicted to peak on August 29 when the utmost sustained winds are forecast to be close to 110 knots (115 mph) earlier than weakening commences.